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Glad you stopped by. Come on in and rest a spell. The coffee's on and the chocolate chip cookies are fresh out of the oven. If you like sharing information about quilts and quilt history, then you have arrived at the right place! Welcome to Eye of the Needle.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Thought you all might like to see my latest vintage quilt ephemera find - it is a thank you note signed by Eleanor Roosevelt and written on official White House Stationary, dated February 9, 1935 while FDR was president.

It's a thank you note to a Mrs. Jules Joseph Fischer, Mrs. McGrath, and "the rest of the ladies" for a quilt they made and sent to her.

February 9, 1935

Author's Collection

Transcription:

"THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

February 9, 1935

My dear Mrs. Fischer:

I was very much delighted to receive from Mrs. McGrath the quilt which you and all the other women so generously made for me. It is very lovely, and I greatly appreciate the work and thought which you have all put into it.

With many thanks and all good wishes, I am

Very sincerely yours, Eleanor Roosevelt"

Now if a person could only find the quilt this note was intended for.... it's not at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum - already checked.

The most helpful lead is the envelope that came with this letter, it was addressed to Mrs. Jules Joseph Fischer, who lived in Mountain View, California in 1935. I have Ancestry.com and I am running down leads that way, but if anyone recognizes Mrs. Fischer as one of their ancestors, please contact me at quiltingbee73@yahoo.com.

This just goes to show those of us who love quilt paper items there is still neat antique and vintage quilt ephemera out there waiting to find their way to us.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I was iced in for a spell and once I finished my chores I got on the computer and did some "looking around" on the topics that interest me in quilt history. I found a couple of interesting people I want to know more about, both are 1930s quiltmakers from opposite sides of the United States.

Mrs. Mary J. Lockard

New Port Richey, Florida

West Pasco County

Wife of Warren Lockard

**She earned her living as a professional quilter in the 1930s -- all hand work - no machine.

and

Mary Ellen Herbert

Burley, Washington (state of)

Kitsap County

Wife of Otto Herbert

Mother of Frank Herbert

Grandma of Frank Herbert (author of Dune)

Great Grandma of Brian Herbert

**She entered her quilts in many many county fairs and eventually they (must be the fair board) had to tell her she could not enter her quilts anymore to compete (only to show) because her quilts always won.

I have Ancestry.com and I have "done that thing."

FYI for those of you who do quilt research - Ancestry.com is one of the most helpful tools out there, but it is a paid service. Start with Rootsweb.com first (it is free) and then decide (with a free trial) if Ancestry.com is for you.

Why am I looking for these two talented ladies? It has something to do with locating the whereabouts of two eagle quilts.

Anyone surfing the net that finds this site through Google -- if you have any information and/or photos of either of these ladies I would appreciate it if you would contact me.

Friday, January 14, 2011

I was familar with Linda Carlson's work long before I contacted her about this project. I love the antique, vintage, and new large four block quilts. I also have all the books (with patterns) that she has created on the subject. She is the authority - the go-to girl - for information about these traditional types of quilt.

Linda's four-block books published with the American Quilter's Society are: Roots, Feathers & Blooms: Four-Block Quilts, Their History & Patterns, Four-Blocks Continued ..., and The Best of Four-Blocks and More!.

Besides being a quilt lecturer, author, and designer, Linda is an educater, a schoolteacher, by profession in her non-quilting life. So it was a given that she would combine her quilting and teaching lives and design three lines of fabric with young people in mind. Working with Benartex, Inc. since 2006 - Linda's fabric line includes "Grammie & Mimi's Baby Geniuses!", "Grammie & Mimi's Baby Geniuses Grow Up!", and "Grammie & Mimi's Baby Geniuses Speak Up!"

Linda choose the 2000s decade and what a decade that was - so much change.

When I looked at Linda's piece she calls "Baby Geniuses Eaglet" with it's rich and spicy colors - I think of hope.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

New Years Day brought an email from Jan Jaqua who found my research on Virginia Snow Studios of Elgin, Illinois on my http://www.illinoisquilthistory.com/ web site and contacted me. about a same pattern grouping of finished 1930s Virginia Snow Studios quilt squares.

Here is the original pattern as it appeared in a 1933 Virginia Snow Studios catalog:

242 Unnamed Flower - Virginia Snow Studios - Elgin,, Illinois

Here is Jan's story in her own words:

"This project came about after I told a good friend of mine that I like to find vintage quilts tops on Ebay and finish them. Handquilting is the part of the project I enjoy most. She replied that there was a metal container in her mother's attic that had been there for many years and came by way of HER mother's home - so this is third generation (Grandma to daughter to granddaughter). She said, "I'll have to go up there and see what's in the container-maybe something of interest.' The next day or two she brought these blocks, two other quilt tops, and some assorted bow-tie and dresden plate blocks.

I thought the blocks were so well done and offered to put them together for her into a quilt."

Jan Jaqua

Here is a picture of this new quilt being made from old blocks with modern Moda marble sashing called Chambray: Beautiful isn't it - a new quilt is born from utilizing vintage quilt squares and modern fabric!

Side Note:

I admire people who do this - find an abandoned quilt top and finish it for the creator and a new quilt is born - I call this a two generation quilt.

There is a rule of thumb here that some who enjoy doing this share with me -- they finish quilt tops created 1930 and forward, they do a reproduction quilt of a top when the original was created before 1930s. The cut off date seems to be 1930 because of the fragile nature of some of the pre-1930s fabrics -- did you know thread can actually cut fabric and that beautiful 1880s quilt top you are finishing might actually be damaged by quilting it? I didn't until someone shared this with me and I'm passing it along to you.

In the end though -- as with all things in this world -- it is your decision whether you finish a quilt top or not, but you are usually safe to finish the ones that were created after 1930. So if this is your thing -- you like to save orphan tops -- then I say -- bravo!

Remember as you are scouring your favorite fabric store, antique malls, flea markets, or auctions in 2011 looking for things to add to your quilt stash that fills up the spare bedroom, "No guilt, but lots of quilts."

About Me

My name is Susan Wildemuth, but most people call me Sue. I am a quilt history, movie, and literature buff, who is always on the lookout for wisdom, insights, and inspiration in this wonderful world of ours.